With the resignation of both Douglas Carswell and Mark Reckless, many in the media are now saying that UKIP has achieved its goal and it is no longer relevant on the political landscape.

Indeed, the aforementioned Mr Carswell has been gloating on his Twitter feed about a council byelection in his area where the Tories have taken a seat from UKIP , claiming that many Kippers think ‘job done’.

So, what is the reality? With the triggering of Article 50 and the initial founding reason for UKIP (Leaving the EU) looking like a reality, what have UKIP got left to offer?

The following article is the opinion of the author and does not necessarily represent the official view of the party

It is often said that a week is a long time in politics – with the events of the last seven days it has certainly seemed that way!

Following on from the surprise resignation of leader Diane James MEP after just 18 days in the role, we have now seen media headlines surrounding an altercation between two of our MEP’s in the EU Parliament in Strasbourg.

The Party is currently investigating what actually happened and as such it would be wrong for me to speculate before that investigation is concluded. I feel sure that we all wish Steven Woolfe MEP, a personal friend and a thoroughly decent man, a speedy recovery.

Following the stunning win of the Leave campaign in Thursday’s EU Referendum, a piece worth looking at from a British National who lived under a previous state cobbled together from separate countries. The UK now has the chance to re-engage with the rest of the world as a forward looking, globally trading, independent nation state.

I am a Slovenian national by birth and a British national by choice. And I support Brexit. Why?

Every life is unique. You have not walked in my shoes, and I fully appreciate that I have not walked in yours. I have been asked to relate the benefit of my experience. I hope that you may find a different perspective helpful to your own thinking, but do with it what you think is right.

When I was born, Slovenia was a part of Yugoslavia. The nation I was born into was not free, nor was it independent. It yearned for its independence for centuries, if not millenia, and it had to pay for its independence in blood. I had to work hard to obtain the nationality of a free country and I value and cherish it. I find it painful to think that any nation would contemplate giving up its freedom and independence voluntarily.

During our ongoing discussions with people on street stalls surrounding the EU Referendum a number of questions keep coming up.

Below, Gerard Batten MEP dispels the myths created by the Remain campaign about the dangers of leaving the EU

1) Would leaving the EU endanger jobs and trade, and could the EU put up trade barriers against the UK?

When we leave the EU it cannot put up arbitrary trade barriers against the UK as that would against World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules, which all EU countries agree to and which govern world trade. And even if they could why would they want to? We have a massive trade deficit with the EU – they sell us far more than we sell them.

Britain currently exports goods and services to the EU to the value of £228.9 billion, whereas their exports to us amount to £290.6 billion: therefore we have a trade deficit with the EU of £61.7 billion. Germany, Spain, France and Italy etc.will still want to sell us their cars, wine and holidays etc. Trade will continue as normal. [i]

And remember, Britain is the fifth largest economy in the world and we are a world trading nation: and while we have a trade deficit with the EU we have a trade surplus with the rest of the world. Our trading success lies in four hundred years of experience; English being the international language of business and science; and the trust that foreign companies put in the English legal system and contract law.

One hundred and fifty of the UK’s most important scientists have signed a letter urging us not to leave the EU; science will suffer if we do, they claim. That this is more “Project Fear”, and does not stand up to scrutiny, is easy to see.

Astronomers claim they will suffer from not getting access to major telescopes but there is only one big telescope in the EU. Most are high in the Andes, South Africa, Hawaii and elsewhere around the planet. Not being in the EU will make no difference to the current situation.

We will not be able to work on the International Space Station they claim, but non EU Norway, Switzerland, Canada and Japan are all major contributors along with Russia and the USA so EU membership is hardly vital. The same holds true for building satellites and other contributions to the space programmes. Prior to joining the EU Britain even had its own space programme and was successful in launching a satellite in 1971 (Prospero). It was cancelled by the Heath government prior to joining the EU and is yet another area where EU membership has held us back.

Another guest post from The Hilltop Watchman, contrasting our great literary history with todays world

The Soldier

If I should die, think only this of me: That there’s some corner of a
foreign field; That is forever England. There shall be in that rich earth a
richer dust concealed; A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware, Gave,
once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam, A body of England’s, breathing
English air, Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home.